Study of the Month: Unveiling the Backlash in Public Opinion on Climate Change
The Paris Agreement and worldwide climate protests in 2018/19 seemed to signal the beginning of a fundamental societal transformation. However, recent developments in public engagement with climate issues in Germany, a traditionally climate-aware country, call this into question. In our “Study of the Month” series, we highlight recent research relevant to climate communication and social […]
Vortrag: Medien in der Klimakrise
Der Journalismus vernachlässigt immer noch das Thema Klimakrise. Und wenn sie thematisiert wird, dann drohen Debatten in die Polarisierungsfalle zu geraten. An den Rändern des Berufsstands rumort es aber: viele jüngere Journalist:innen geben sich nicht länger mit einer passiven Vermittlung von Politikerstatements und Routineberichterstattung zum Klimawandel zufrieden. Transformativer Journalismus will die Gesellschaft kritisch und konstruktiv […]
Decreasing Climate Media Coverage in the United States and Germany
Our dataset of climate media coverage in the United States and Germany reveals a worrying development. After a few years of elevated meda attention to climate change, the share of coverage dedicated to the topic is receding in most media in both countries. The following graphs provide some detail. Overall coverage of climate change is […]
Study of the month: Communicating Climate Futures
Despite the IPCC’s ongoing efforts to communicate its findings more simply and effectively, the general public still lacks understanding of the IPCC’s work. Bridging actors like journalists are essential for conveying scientific information — especially for highly contextualized issues such as the model climate scenarios at the core of the IPCC’s reports. This raises the question of […]
Rückschlag für den Klimaschutz: Aktuelle Umfragedaten aus dem Projekt Down2Earth der Universität Hamburg
Die aktuellen Ergebnisse einer seit 2015 wiederholten Befragung der deutschen Bevölkerung zum Thema Klimawandel und Klimapolitik zeigt für 2023 einen Rückgang des Klimabewusstseins. Leugnung und Verweigerung sowie Delegitimierung von Klimapolitik und Protesten sind gestiegen bei weiterhin geringem Hintergrundwissen. Ende 2023 fand die 28. Klimakonferenz der Vereinten Nationen statt, bei der eine Bestandsaufnahme der erreichten Ziele […]
Klimawandel in den Medien
In ihrem Artikel “Klimawandel in den Medien” geben Michael Brüggemann und Louisa Pröschel einen Überblick über das Forschungsfeld der Klimakommunikation und beschreiben, wieso der Klimawandel eine besondere Herausforderung für den Journalismus ist, welche Hindernisse es in der Klimakommunikation in Deutschland gibt und, wie diese überwunden werden können.
Addressing Misconceptions About News Media Coverage of Climate Change
In two simple graphs, we address a number of myths about how news media cover climate change in Germany and the United States. Some people incorrectly assume that climate change (1) has been at the center of journalistic attention for a long time and that (2) this attention has been steadily increasing (3) uniformly across […]
Do people learn about climate change?
How to mobilize citizens, politicians and companies for climate action? Often, knowledge about climate change – or more precisely, a lack of knowledge – is seen as a crucial factor. Basic facts on climate change and climate politics are indeed unknown to a large share of the population. However, ‘educating the public’ is not as […]
Can Art Make (Climate) Models Better?
How do we think about climate futures ahead of us? Different actors tend to use different tools for that. The stream of weather catastrophes in the news media suggests a rather gloomy future. Some recent novels try to paint a more optimistic picture of the decades ahead (see our post on this). International climate politics, […]
Including Public Voices in Scientific Research – Challenges, Prospects, and Pathways
There is a growing demand for public engagement with science. However, many scientists lack training and experience in this form of science communication. Find out more about how and why public engagement may benefit you and your research. In his book ‘The Engaged Scholar – Expanding the Impact of Academic Research in Today’s World’ (2021, […]